Racing in the eighth and final event of her rookie season, 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström notched two new career highlights at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals. Before falling in the first round of eliminations on Sunday, Zetterström recorded a career-best E.T. and speed to qualify in the ultra-competitive Top Fuel field at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
 
Zetterström’s personal-best E.T. came in the first qualifying session on Friday as she recorded a 3.738-second pass at 323.89 mph. That run put the JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge dragster third out of the nine cars that made an attempt before rain put an end to Friday qualifying. She then broke into the 330-mph range with a solid 3.756 E.T. at 334.32 mph in the second session, marking her career-best speed. Zetterström stayed consistent in the final session, laying down a 3.755 at 325.37 mph to end up No. 14 on the final qualifying sheet.
 
For the second consecutive event, Zetterström lined up against 2023 world champion Doug Kalitta in the first round of eliminations, marking the ninth time in 11 rounds of competition that Zetterström faced a world champion. Zetterström and Kalitta were the second pair of drivers set to run before a small plane crashed in the pit area, leading NHRA officials to pause racing activity for almost two hours. Once racing resumed, Zetterström left just a tick behind Kalitta and went into tire smoke early in the run, coasting across the finish line.
 
“It was a little strange being in the water box and then having [the plane crash] happen and having to get out and kind of regroup and get back together,” Zetterström said. “Racing Doug again in a rematch from Vegas does give you a feeling of redemption, being able to get another shot at it. It was over at the hit, though. I had a cylinder out right when I stepped on it and that made it go into tire shake. After that, we could not recover, so that was the end of our race day.”
 
Zetterström qualified at all eight races she attended and earned three round wins, including a semifinal finish in her NHRA debut. She pointed out that while she didn’t get to hoist a Wally in her rookie season, her upstart team did accomplish numerous goals.
 
“I don't want the results of today to be a reflection of all of our races this year because I do feel like we have made big strides,” Zetterström said. “One of our biggest goals was to keep going quicker and faster and qualify better and just find our tune-up for this car. We're just getting started with that. There's a lot more potential in this car. Being 12 races behind everybody else this season has been a little challenging, and I wish that we had at least 10 more right now because I feel like I'm in the middle of my season. Hopefully we can manage a full season next year. I want to do really big things here in the sport, so we're looking for more partners that want to do that with us.”
 
Zetterström also shared her gratitude for the JCM Racing team, which added a second Top Fuel operation to join its original team with eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher earlier this season.
 
“I'm just very happy to be able to start here in NHRA and get my rookie season going with JCM Racing,” she said. “I've had a fantastic team around me with Jon Schaffer putting this whole team and car together, but also with Tony Shortall coming on board, helping oversee the guys, and then having a really strong group around me that always had my back. I'm very thankful for starting my career over here with them and I'm hopeful that there's still many years to come.”
 
As one of the NHRA Rookie of the Year candidates, Zetterström will attend the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Awards Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 18 at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif.